Digital Detox by Wendy SpeakeSample

Day Three

In Real Life

Scripture: Matthew 18:20; John 15:12; Galatians 6:2

I sat on my couch with Chanda as we talked about what she’d learned as she fasted from social media. She confessed, “The first couple of weeks were lonely. It’s as though I had to learn all over again how to be social.”

Online, we use the acronym IRL. It stands for “in real life” and refers not to our online people but to those with whom we intimately do real life. When social media becomes our native tongue, we’re left tongue-tied and socially awkward IRL. 

While the primary purpose of fasting from social media is to replace online people with the person of Jesus Christ, it’s also important to replace online people with real-life people. The goal of fasting is always to lay down what is temporary and pick up what is eternal. God created us as spiritual beings who would live forever in His presence. So when we take the time to invest in another person, we are sowing into what is eternal. 

While we can be honest and authentic, even transparent, online, true vulnerability must be saved for the safe haven of close community, where we “carry each other’s burdens, and in this way . . . fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). It’s hard to carry another’s heavy burden with a phone in our hands. When we empty our hands, we are able to carry furniture into moving vans, hold babies while new moms take showers, place casseroles in ovens, and grab hold of another’s hands in prayer. Today, make a call and extend an invitation for some face-to-face fellowship with a friend you’ve been too busy for. It will be a blessing to both you and the one you reach out to! 

Lord, I need to put down my phone and look up into the eyes of my friends. It’s been a while, so it feels a little awkward. Give me the courage to invite people into my often-messy real life, where meals aren’t photoshopped and curated for optimal Instagram likes. Help me to value what You value, Lord: the eternal souls of people. You’re the best friend of all, so I ask this in Your name. Amen.